Features

Doughnut Ideas from Glazed, Filled, Sugared & Dipped

Whether you think of them as “doughnuts” or “donuts,” you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make these sweet treats at home.

Dripping with chocolate glaze, bursting with sweet vanilla cream or blackberry jam filling, or simply rolled in cinnamon sugar—doughnuts, however you like them, can’t be beat when freshly made. And they’re surprisingly easy to fry—or bake—from scratch.
Glazed, Filled, Sugared & Dipped includes recipes for classic cake and yeast-raised doughnuts as well as for zeppole, beignets, churros, bomboloni, and doughnut holes—plus glazes, fillings, and sauces to mix and match.

Basic Cake Doughnuts

To come up with the perfect general-purpose cake doughnut recipe, I started with the most delicious doughnut I know—my family’s killer apple cider doughnuts—and worked backward, searching for a dough that would serve as a blank canvas for all of my favorite sugars, glazes, and dipping sauces. Think of this as your building-block doughnut: delicious on its own, richly flavored with a hint of citrus brightness, yet still neutral enough to mix and match with a wide variety of accompaniments. You can also transform this doughnut over and over again by mixing any number of ingredients right into the dough. | Makes about a dozen 3-inch doughnuts

1 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the egg and mix for a few seconds. Add the buttermilk, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla, and mix until just barely combined into a stiffish dough.

2 Scrape the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and put another sheet of parchment paper on top. Using a rolling pin, flatten and roll the dough until it’s 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until it no longer clings when you try to peel off the parchment paper.

3 Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer until the oil reaches 350°F. Prepare two baking sheets: one lined with paper towels, and the other dusted with flour.

4 Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper and flip the dough onto a floured work surface. Remove the second sheet of parchment paper and dust the dough with flour. Using a floured biscuit or doughnut cutter, cut the dough into 2½ – to 3-inch tubular rounds and put them on the flour-dusted baking sheet.

5 Fry the doughnuts in batches, taking care not to crowd the pot, until golden brown all over, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on the paper-towel-lined baking sheet.

6 Toss the warm doughnuts in sugar or dip them in a glaze of your choosing. Eat them immediately, or store for up to 2 days.

I like bringing the liquor cabinet into my pastry kitchen, whether by incorporating dessert wines into a fruit poach, brandy into chocolate truffles, or liqueurs into whipped cream. Whiskey and chocolate are always delicious together, and I’ve also found that the spirit has a particular affinity with my passionfruit caramel. Taken as a whole, I think this dessert is exceptional for the way its flavors build: first you taste the warmth of the whiskey, followed by the tropical tartness of the passionfruit, and finally the smoothness of the caramel and earthy cocoa on the finish. | Makes about a dozen doughnuts

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cocoa, and whiskey with 2 tablespoons water and whisk until smooth. Use at room temperature.

Passionfruit Caramel

Passionfruit is a tropical fruit that has a wonderful, and somewhat strong, tart flavor. When worked into a simple caramel recipe, it gives a nice touch of brightness to the caramel’s round, rich character. I’ve used this recipe as a dipping sauce, and as a topping for French toast and ice cream. Fresh passionfruit can be difficult to find, and each fruit yields only about 1 tablespoon of juice, but frozen passionfruit puree or bottled juice (which you can buy at better grocery stores) is a good substitute. Look for brands that are 100 percent juice with no added sugar. | Makes 1 cup

1 In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream, passionfruit juice, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.

2 In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and about 2 teaspoons water (just enough to give the mixture the consistency of wet sand). Put the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the sugar turns a medium amber color, another 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and carefully pour in the passionfruit mixture. The caramel will sputter and seize up, but then gradually dissolve as the temperature rises. Continue to stir it with a wooden spoon until smooth.

3 Remove the pan from the heat, add the butter, and stir until it’s melted and blended. Strain the caramel through a fine-mesh sieve. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to

Sugar and Spice Brioche Doughnut Holes

Brioche is super rich, as it is packed to the gills with butter and eggs, so frying it results in just about the most tender, indulgent, melt-in-your-mouth doughnuts imaginable. But I’m not going to lie to you: this dough is also temperamental, requires the greatest time commitment of any recipe in this book, and must be served pretty much directly out of the fryer. Since it’s so rich, I opt for making small brioche holes rather than full-size doughnuts, which might be too much of a good thing. Tossed in a simple, pungent cardamom sugar, these little doughnut holes become an elegant dessert that I think you’ll find is well worth the extra effort. | Makes about 2 dozen doughnut holes

1 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour and sugar on low speed. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the yeast, mixing for about 1 minute, until the ingredients are evenly combined. Gradually add the butter a few cubes at a time, and then add the salt. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue to mix until the butter is completely incorporated and the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. The dough will typically make a slapping sound when it’s ready to come out, and it should be glossy and smooth.

2 Transfer the dough to a medium metal bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a draft-free environment until it has doubled in size, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.

3 Put the proofed dough in the refrigerator until it’s cool and firm.

4 Take the chilled dough out of the refrigerator and turn it out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Put a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll it out until it is ½ inch thick. Put the dough back in the refrigerator and chill it for about 20 minutes more. (At this stage, the dough may be chilled for up to 24 hours before continuing.)

5 Prepare two baking sheets: one lined with paper towels, and the other with greased parchment paper.

6 Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper and flip the dough onto a floured surface. Remove the second sheet of parchment paper and dust the dough with flour. Using a floured biscuit or doughnut cutter about the size of a half dollar, cut the dough into rounds and put them on the greased baking sheet.

7 Cover with plastic wrap and let the doughnut holes proof at room temperature until they double in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

8 Refrigerate them once more until chilled, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer until the oil reaches 350°F.

9 Fry the doughnut holes in batches, taking care not to crowd the pot, until golden brown all over, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Toss the doughnut holes in the cardamom sugar and serve them immediately.

Cardamom Sugar

Makes 1 cup

1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cardamom, and salt. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.